January 12, 2012 - Welcome back, we hope everyone had a good break with family and friends. PVFT has moved to a new location at 734 East Lake Avenue Suite 14. Although we are still unpacking and getting used to our new location, we will be able to hold future Executive Council and Council of Reps meetings at our new offices. We will be holding an Open House on January 27 from 4:30 to 6:30, please stop by for some appetizers and to say hello!

The next few months will be extremely busy months, not only in the daily work that we do, but also in the development of our contract and the future of Education in California. Ballot initiatives, which will directly impact the funding of education state wide and our personal retirement plans are being circulated through the state. PVFT and will keep you informed of the initiatives and their effects upon our students, members and community.

Our negotiations team will be working diligently to negotiate the best terms and conditions of our employment. Please be sure to complete and respond to any surveys or inquiries made regarding the upcoming contract negotiations. On January 20 we will be entering into negotiations to address the impact of School Improvement Grants at several of our schools including Watsonville High School and E.A. Hall Middle School.

Officer Elections

We encourage everyone to get involved with PVFT. One way is by serving on our Executive Council Board. Positions in the Executive Council are elected at large during the month of March. Nominations will be open at the January 23 Representative Council meeting and will close at the February Representative Council meeting. You can nominate yourself or ask your site rep to do it. More information regarding the open Executive Council positions and the election process will be forth coming.

“Millionaires Tax of 2012” and The “Courage Campaign”

What is it? A statewide ballot measure that asks Californians who make over $1 million per year to pay a little bit more to invest in California after years of devastating cuts and corporate tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

Why do we need it? Since 2008, budget cuts have led to big increases in K-12 class sizes, nearly a doubling of community and state college tuition, and billions in cuts to essential services for children and seniors.

What does it do? It asks those making more than $1 million a year in personal income to pay their fair share in taxes so we can raise an estimated $6 billion to begin:

• re-hiring laid off teachers to reduce class sizes,
• rolling back college tuition increases,
• restoring cuts to essential services for children, seniors, and disabled persons,
• re-hiring laid off emergency responders,
• and creating jobs by repairing roads and bridges.

Who's behind it? A coalition of educators, parents, and community groups working together to restore California's middle class.

What can you do to help? Build the movement to put this on the ballot. Add your name at www.couragecampaign.org and tell your friends and family and contact Jenn Laskin @ PVFT to volunteer on the campaign or organize a presentation at your school, church or community venue!

Furlough Pay- 2012

Due to short payroll deadlines in December 2011 and the need to make salary schedule changes through the County Office of Education, the lump sum correction for our restored furlough days will happen on the Jan 31, 2012 paycheck.  Subsequent paychecks will be back to our pre-furlough salary.

Early Retirement (Golden Handshake) Update

PVUSD is investigating the possibility of an Early Retirement incentive through Aliant, our new third party administrator and benefits consultant.  We will keep you posted on this issue.  Many of our members have inquired about this possibility and we aim to get you any information as soon as we have it.

How will state “trigger cuts” affect K-12 funding?

Prepared by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , CFT Research Specialist

December 15, 2011—State Director of Finance Ana Matosantos and Governor Jerry Brown announced Tuesday December 13 that the so-called trigger cuts would be enacted because state revenues have not matched budget projections. Included are all of the Tier 1 cuts—$100 million each to UC and CSU, $30 million to community colleges as well as significant cuts to child care, corrections, and health and human services—totaling $600 million.

K-12 districts will see their transportation funding cut in half, a cut that falls heavily on rural and poor urban districts who are more likely to provide student transportation. Districts are required by law to provide necessary transportation to special education students so they will have to continue to provide those services even if the state fails to reimburse them. Los Angeles Unified has announced that it will sue the state because of the cut. Other districts are concerned that cutting transportation services locally to save money will backfire—if students are unable to get to school, falling attendance will lead to additional revenue losses.

The triggered cut to K-12 revenue limits is about $80 million, representing a cut of .25 percent or about $13 per ADA, much less than the worst-case scenario.

The Director of Finance did refer to the trigger cuts as “ongoing cuts” that will likely be factored into the Governor’s Proposed Budget which is expected between January 10 and January 15. Most observers anticipate another difficult budget year with additional cuts despite slight improvements in the economy.

New State Budget for 2012-2013- Are We Facing More Layoffs?

Jack Carroll, PVFT Chief Negotiator

The governor has released a new state budget for next fiscal year. It will undergo a lot of changes in the next 6 months, since this is just his first proposal, but you may want to know the details as they stand today.

He is proposing that some categorical funding be combined with our normal ADA funding and be calculated with a consideration for how many English learners we have and how many pupils eligible for a free reduced lunches we have. Since our district is very high in both those measurements this should be good for us. Funding for bus transportation would be eliminated. Since our district is unusually large this would be bad for us. No COLA adjustment is proposed. Child care funding is reduced.

The Governor's proposal relies on new tax revenues from his proposed tax initiative to be voted on in November. That means things could get worse. Without this new revenue we may be asked to reduce the school year by 3 weeks or layoff enough people to achieve the same dollar savings. We'll be hearing about lots of changes in the coming months and will keep you informed.